//------------------------------// // Chapter 1~ Here Be Dragons // Story: The Alicorn Scrolls // by Terrarian Pony //------------------------------// By Terrarian Pony ... Story: Terrarian Pony presents... A fan story based off, and inspired by Bethesda's hit video game series "The Elder Scrolls" The Alicorn Scrolls Chapter 1 Here Be Dragons ... Princess Twilight Sparkle was being escorted to the dragon lands via royal sky carriage. It wasn't very like her to make an entrance this way, but Celestia said it would be more practical for the negotiation. Things weren't looking good for the relationship between ponies and dragons. As Twilight stepped off the carriage, and onto the heated rock, she looked around. Things on the valcanic mountain were much more eery than usual. All the dragons looking down on her, making whispered comments. As she approached the current Dragon Lord, Bolognokgahrot, stood above her, tall and proud, but in a menacing way. "You have bravery to return here, pony." the dragon said in a deep voice. "But you're effort is useless. We have already declaired war on your kind." Twilight dared take a step closer, but bowed in doing so. "Dragon Lord, please." Twilight pleaded. "I'm afraid I don't understand. What did we do to make you go to such extremes? I'm sure we can make it up to you somehow." The dragon waved a claw, while looking away from her. "Your words fall on deaf ears, pony." Bolognok growled. "The original dragon lord has returned. The prophecy is coming true, and he will either destroy or concur Equestria. With the lack of a dovahkiin, there is no hope for your land." Twilight was shocked. Surely he didn't mean... "The... original Dragon Lord?" She hoped it wasn't what she thought. "Surely a pony who has heard many stories, like you," Bolognok started, pointing a claw at Twilight. "has heard the story of Alduin the Destroyer." A roar of cheering from the other dragons. Twilight gasped. Then there really was no hope of negotiation, was there? "Now leave this place! Before we decide to make an early lunch out of you!" With that, Twilight went back to the sky carriage, and ordered the flyers to take off. Twilight had really hoped it would not come to this, but if Alduin really was returning, there would definitely be chaos. ... It was raining as the slaver ponies were hauling slaves wearing enchanted collars, in wooden cage carriages. The slaves were all wearing different expressions waining from fear, hopelessness, and even indifference, waiting for a stop. One of the slaves was green pegasus stallion, having a green mane and tail. He had blue eyes, and a tree for a cutie mark. This... is Terran Jone's story. ... Terran woke up, slowly. He felt very dizzy. As he began to recover, he started to notice two things, specifically. 1: He was on some means of transportation. 2: His neck was really itchy and sweaty. He reached up a hoof to scratch it, and that's when he noticed why. He was wearing some kind of collar. He then looked around to see... he was caged up in a carriage, along with a few other creatures sharing the same kind of collar he was wearing. He tried to pull to get it off, until one of his fellow prisoners interrupted him. "Jar'Wuz would not do that if he were you." Terran looked over at the prisoner. A bipedal, yet cat-like creature, wearing a blue jacket over his fur. He was obviously a Khajiit. He had brown and black fur, and big, green eyes, and he looked like he was bored of this ride, as if he'd gone through this situation about a hundred times before. Typical khajiit. "These collars we are wearing, they are not just for show, no? But for obedience. We do not obey, it is enchanted to shock the wearer at their master's command. But if we stray too far from the artifact that controls them... it will shock us automatically, but it will be offline for a few hours." Terran stared in disbelief. "Why?" Terran asked. He got a shrug in response. "Because they can." the khajiit said. "Same reason any creature does anything, really. They do it, because it benefits them." That... wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for, but it was all he was getting, obviously. "I am Jar'Wuz, by the way." He extended his... paw, to Terran. Khajiit never have horns, wings, or hooves, or even cutie marks. The only hair on them was all over their body, and tail, but a cat tail instead of a pony tail. But they did have the natural ability to be stealthy. Trained khajiit are highly skilled in theft or even subtle assassination. But not all khajiit are like that. Terran shook his paw, hoping he was one of the more... generous ones. "Terran Jones." he said. The khajiit looked him in the eyes with a grin. He laughed. "I can tell," Jar'Wuz started. "that we will be seeing each other at a later time, once Jar'Wuz gets out of this mess... again." The carriage began to take them into a town. The sign above the wall gate read "Blacklight: Slaver Territory. No entry unless you have business!" Straight to the point. As they past through the wall gate, Terran saw what looked to be a bunch of yellow and black striped zebra. They are mostly known as high zebras, and they usually have a pretty high opinion of themselves, mostly because they're are known to be the most skilled magic users in Equestria, despite not having horns. The high zebra were the ones who creating spell wands. But they also have a big rep for buying slaves to assist them in their experiments. Terran thought it's not worth it to ruin other's lives in the name of science. He then realized, he was being sold to the Thalmor, a faction of high zebra that especially think of themselves as high and mighty. Some of them were even carrying spell wands. Spell wands are for those who can't bend the elements of magic the way a unicorn can. Himself for instance. Terran is a pegasus, so without a horn, he would need a spell wand to cast spells after learning them. He sometimes carried a spell wand with him, in case he ever needed to defend himself with say, a flame spell. He also knew a spell for healing himself, but he doesn't know any healing others spells. Spells can be bought by vendors and learned by spell tomes, books that tells a pony how to use a specific spell, or channel magic through a spell wand to use it. Terran had always wanted to try frost magic, but never had the opportunity to learn. It was too bad these slavers confiscated his wand, otherwise he would burn his way out of this situation... and probably get some experience of what this stupid shock collar on his neck can do. Oh well. The carriage haulted to a stop, and the cage door rose up. One of the slavers yelled for the griffin girl in front of him to step off the wagon. She didn't look scared, nor angry, but more like she was willing to accept her fate. As they stepped off the carraige, he heard a conversation between a slaver and one of the high zebra, wearing a black hoodie, decorated with golden outlines. Those are called Thalmor Justiciars, best known high ranking agents of the Thalmor. Next to the slaver he was talking to, was a blue, earth pony colt, with a dark green mane. He didn't even have a cutie mark yet. "Alright, alright. 30 bits for the foal." the zebra said. The slaver looked appalled. "30 bits? This kid fixes old impish machines like they're made of leather." The yellow and black zebra didn't even look surprised. "Really?" he said unenthusiastically. "So could I at that age. Still 30 bits, but I'll throw in a spell tome of your choosing." The slaver shrugged. "I guess that works." he said. The zebra paid for the colt, and gave away a conjure storm atronach spell. The colt looked at his new "master" with a stare of determination. "Great, another grown up, here to tell me what to do." the colt said. The colt didn't seem sad, nor scared. In fact, he looked more determined to give this zebra a hard time. "Don't expect me to suck up to you, just 'cause I got this collar. I'll know what makes you tick soon enough. I always figure that stuff out." The zebra actually seemed genuinely impressed by the colt's determination. "I will keep that in mind." the zebra said. "Now, come along." Terran then overheard another voice. "No! No! You aren't going to treat me like a swine! I won't let you!" A brown stallion with a dark brown mane, and a cutie mark of jewels and gold, most likely indicating he was a treasure hunter or a bandit, decided to take a run, but his collar let out an electric pulse, which shocked him, and frightened the other nearby slaves. Two of the slavers raced after him to check his vitals. "He's dead." "Dang it, and I was hoping to sell this one for a good price, too." "Take his corpse to where all the others are." The slavers began to move the dead body. Terran nearly felt sick to his stomach. "Huh..." Jar'uz said. "That usually does not happen unless the owner wants it to." The cat pony looked grimly up at the crows that watched as the corpse was being hauled away. " "Or unless the collar's enchantment was not performed properly, than that is the enchanter's fault." "Well then, someone was too stupid." Terran commented. "Shut your snoots and follow me!" One of the slavers, Torment, a dirty-red stallion with a dirty-blonde mane stared at their group. He didn't look like a very patient pony. They followed him, and he took them to a yellow unicorn mare, with a blue mane, and a cutie mark of whip. This was Sally. She ran Blacklight, and owned it ever since humiliating her mother by enslaving her, or some rumors say. A collar was telekinetically floating next to her. "Well, well. If isn't the infamous Jar'Wuz." she said. Jar'Wuz grinned. "Ah, my sweet lady, Sally." he said. "Jar'Wuz trusts you've made some improvements to your security since last time he was held here." His gaze shifted wanderingly to the collar, and grinned even wider. "Oh, and is that Ja'Wuz's new collar? I bet it's more secure then the last. How lovely." Terran got the impression that Jar'Wuz wasn't taking this matter seriously at all. It wasn't imprisonment for him... it was a challenge. A test of his skills. Was he caught on purpose? Or is not getting caught another self test as well? Either way, he was acting very strangely. "Yes, dear." Sally said, unlocking his collar and putting on the new one. "And this time you will stay mine. You hear me?" "Oh yes." Jar'Wuz said. "Jar'Wuz can hear very good. But this one will still fail. I will find a flaw, I promise you." Sally looked over towards Terran. "Who's this one?" she asked. "I don't remember requesting him." "We just found him wandering near the Everfree Forest," Torment said. "so we took him in for trespassing in our territory." Sally face-hoofed. "Torment, what have I told you about moderation?" "Umm..." "Do not take slaves unless they are on the list. How hard is that to remember? We're business ponies, not savages." "Well, what do you want me to do with do with him? Let him go?" Torment asked. "No, no." Sally said. "That will risk our operation. Leave this one with me. I'll figure out what to do with him later." "Fine." Torment said. "You hear that? You're leash goes to the boss. Better hope you don't end up like her mother... whatever did happen to her." "Ah yes." Jar'Wuz said. "It is said that she enslaved her own mother for this town, yes? But rumor has it her mother died shortly after, or escaped somehow and never returned. Some say she is trapped in a secret room, being tortured by Sally. Whatever the case, she hadn't been seen in a while." "Let's hope I don't have to find out." Terran said. "I guess I'll be seeing you around?" Jar'Wuz grinned. "Hehe... maybe." he laughed. Terran stepped closer towards Sally. "If I may be so blunt," Sally said. "who are you, exactly?" "Terran Jones." he said. "I am a scribe in the the Guild of Knowledge. And from what we hear about Blacklight, you guys could use some of that." "Charming." Sally said. "I suppose I could use somepony like you. Perhaps we can make a deal? I let you go free, but you'll have to gather information for me." "I'm not much of a dealer in certain affairs." Terran said. "I prefer to stick to honest work." Sally frowned. "What we do here is honest work." she said. "Like I said, we don't just enslave whoever we want. We have an agenda. What you walked into however... was an accident." Sally lowered her head, just enough to still look Terran in the eyes. "An accident that can be corrected one of a few ways. Being from the Guild of Knowledge, you must be a very smart pony. You do the math. You gather information for us, and you don't mention a word about us or the location of our organization, and you go free. Now doesn't that sound fair?" Terran squinted at her. "Unfortunately, I am not interested in your deal. I prefer not to work with ponies who show little talent and effort to earn money. My answer is no." Sally sighed, disappointed. "Very well." she said. "I hoped you would see things my way. But it seems I will have to motivate you. I'll just have you spend time in 'the box' until you decide to change your mind." That didn't sound good. "Wait..." Terran said, nervously. "what's 'the box'?" Sally smiled deviously. "You'll see." ... "The box" was an iron door cell inside of what used to be a town prison. There was only one, large cell, and it was infested with rats, spider webs, and bones. And not just Pony bones. Terran was seriously considering the mare's offer, until he saw that there was one other prisoner alive inside the cell. She was a small, blue dragon, who looked very afraid. She was shivering in a corner, and crying. After seeing that, Terran remembered why he would never betray his policies of honor. "So, are you reconsidering?" Sally asked. Terran stood firm. "No." he said. Sally gave another disappointed sigh. "Fine, you'll stay here until you do." She pushed him into the cell, unlocked his collar, and closed the door. "Hey, are you alright?" Terran asked the small dragon. "What's it to you?" the dragon asked. "Listen, I know there's a way to get out of this." Terran said. "But I won't leave without you." "Why do you care?" the dragon asked. "And what makes you think I want to leave, huh?" "Two questions, both have same answer. Because this place is more miserable then out there, and I don't think this wet suff on the floor is sewage water." Terran said flatly. "You reeeally don't want to know what that is." the dragon said. "Point being, I want to help." Terran said. "You can't." she said. "This place is impenetrable, except to maybe a dragon ten times my size." She really did look only three feet tall. It accured to him that she was still a baby dragon. But her wings... were attached her claws. Then he had a realization. "Wait a minute. You're not a dragon at all. You're a wyvern!" The... wyvern, threw her wing-claws in the air. "Finally!" she yelled. "Someone who gets the difference! Maybe you aren't as dumb as I thought you were. Name's Tulip by the way. And before you ask, no, I wasn't crying earlier... I just smelled rat feces." She crossed her... wings, and looked the other way. Terran wasn't convinced, but he played along with it. "Which is precisely why we need to leave." Terran observed. "How long have you been here?" "Three weeks." Tulip said. "I would love to get out of this place, but look around! I checked, and there isn't a single crack, crevice, or flaw in these walls." The wyvern slumped her shoulders. "Did you check the floor?" Terran asked. "You're kidding me, right?" she said, arching a brow. "Of course I checked..." Terran held his wings up. "Relax. Just trying lighten the mood." "Whatever. Hey, what's that sound?" Terran listened carefully, but didn't hear anything. "What sound?" he asked. "It sounds like... wings flapping." Tulip observed. "There are pegasus guards out there." Terran said. "Yeah, but these flaps sound heavier." Terran listen more, and then he heard it. Slow, heavy wing beats. "Actually, that sounds a lot like..." "DRAGON!!!" a guard screamed. Suddenly, the walls crumbled above them, barely hitting them, and suddenly above them, was very large dragon. This dragon was about the size of ten houses, with black wings that reflected the sun. It's eyes were as red as Tartarus, and it's teeth sharper than any blade Terran had ever seen. "YOOOOOL!!!" the dragon shouted, flames came from the dragons mouth, igniting slaves and slavers alike, as more dragons began to flock from behind him. The dragon looked down at Terran, as the little wyvern spread her wings and fled into the sky. Terran almost felt paralyzed. "This... can't... be good." To be continued...